Men's Hoops Storms Back for Win Over Wright State

Tuesday, November 23

Naples, Fla.

12 p.m.

James Madison University

5-1,0-0CAA

Wright State

1-4,0-0Horizon

Wright St.

James Madison

11/23/2021 5:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - James Madison erased a 15-point deficit on Tuesday afternoon, climbing all the way back to secure a 78-76 victory over Wright State in the Dukes' second game of the Naples Invitational.

After struggling out of the gates, the Dukes (5-1) would ramp up the intensity in the second half, forcing 10 turnovers from Wright State (1-4) and committing just four of their own, all while outrebounding the Raiders 16-9 after the break.

Redshirt freshman forward Justin Amadi led the second-half charge, scoring nine of his team-high 16 points after halftime, including seven in the first 2:26 of the period to spark a 10-0 run that tied things up after the Dukes trailed by 10.

Junior guard Vado Morse added 14 points to go with three rebounds and three steals, while graduate student Takal Molson and redshirt freshman Terrence Edwards chipped in 11 and 10, respectively.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
While the Dukes opened cold from the field, making just two of their first eight shots, Wright State used hot shooting and offensive rebounds to put the Dukes in an 18-7 hole after just 6:35 of play, eventually pushing the advantage out to 27-12 at the 10:23 mark to stake their biggest lead of the afternoon.

The Raiders would lead by 15 again with 8:22 to play in the half before JMU started chipping away, as the Dukes closed to nine on three different occasions before going into the break trailing by a 46-36 margin.

Second Half
JMU immediately reversed its fortunes out of the break, ripping off the first 10 points of the half to erase the deficit in just 1:27 of play as Amadi and Morse each scored five unanswered points in the run.

Wright State would go back up by five multiple times before the Dukes took their first lead at 62-61 with a forced turnover and runout layup from graduate student Charles Falden. JMU would later hold the Raiders scoreless for 2:39 and used six-straight points to go up 75-69 with 4:42 to play.

The Raiders responded with seven-straight of their own to take a 76-75 lead before Falden buried the biggest shot of the afternoon, drilling another corner three-pointer with 1:23 to play to put JMU on top for good.

QUICK HITS
- The Dukes' 15-point comeback win marked the largest such victory for the Dukes since erasing a 19-point deficit in a 69-67 win at William & Mary on March 2, 2013.
- After surrendering five offensive rebounds in the opening 4:19 of the game and a sixth with 9:49 to play in the first half, the Dukes did not give up an offensive rebound for the remainder of the contest.
- Graduate student Alonzo Sule continued to prove crucial on the boards, racking up a season-high nine rebounds, eight of which came in the second half and four came in the heated final minute of the contest.
- Tuesday's win marked the Dukes' second double-digit comeback win of the season, both away from home after erasing a 61-51 deficit at Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 16.
- With his season-high 16 points, Amadi became the fifth different JMU player to lead the team in scoring through just six games this season - junior guard Jalen Hodge is the only scorer to repeat.

UP NEXT
The Dukes will close out the Naples Invitational on Wednesday, Nov. 24, taking on Murray State in the fifth-place game at 2:30 p.m. On Tuesday, the Racers rolled past Long Beach State in an 80-43 decision to improve to 4-1 on the season.